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I have an eight year old Dyneema tarp with about 90 days deployed. On my most recent trip, it had numerous leaks. When I investigated in the daylight (it was night when I discovered the leaks) there were many "loose" fibers, each of which was allowing water to seep through. Is this a normal age/exposure issue for Dyneema tarps?
Do you use a one-piece ridge line or split lines (separate RLs on each end of the tarp)?
Split ridge lines put a lot of stress on the tarp and can lead to deformation of the material and premature failure.
Photo from a recent FS post demonstrating such a failure:
Attachment 189729
With DCF my practice is to always use a one-piece ridge line with the tarp suspended beneath it with Prusik loops, and there are other methods as well such as Nama claws.
Attachment 189730
As with most materials for tent/tarp, it is best not to pitch things banjo-string tight, but just snug enough to get out the wrinkles. In the above photo only the ridge line is quite tight, everything else 'just so'....
The above is good advice. And yes, unfortunately, dyneema "fuzzes"over time.
As with most materials for tent/tarp, it is best not to pitch things banjo-string tight, but just snug enough to get out the wrinkles. In the above photo only the ridge line is quite tight, everything else 'just so'....[/QUOTE]
I use a continuous ridge line with 1 prusik on one end and hooked directly to the ridge D ring on the other end. I do tend to keep it pretty tight, but I didn't see a failure like the one in your picture, mine was just a few random fibers across the entire tarp, but every one of them had a drop of water suspended from it.
The most common issue I see with DCF tarps are people who leave the tarp out in the sun too much. DCF will delaminate from excessive UV exposure. There have been a few people on HF who hung their tarp in the back yard for a month or two only to find their DCF tarp was destroyed.
I've had my DCF tarp for ten years and it looks like it's brand new.
Well, thank you Gentlemen for your quick response. I'm going to give a Sil-poly tarp a try. Just got one from HG. I'll seam seal it and give it a winter test, maybe next weekend.
I have a used dcf tarp I bought on the forums, but I actually prefer sil poly. Dcf is lighter and totally water proof, but I really like the way sil poly is easier to store in your pack- takes a lot less space than dcf! (Also I dont worry about damaging my sil poly tarp- Its more forgiving, and If I have to replace it its much cheaper than dcf!)Quote:
Originally Posted by TheRuralRefugee
DCF takes up a lot of space when it's stuffed or scrunched (as with snakeskins) because of all the wrinkles and small air pockets. But if it is folded and rolled it takes up very little.
Pic comparing a HG 11' DCF hex (top) and Dutch 11' Xenon 1.1 ...............
Attachment 189731
That makes sense- I use snake skins with my dcf tarpQuote:
Originally Posted by cmoulder